Ski trainer

ABSTRACT

Ski trainers comprising means for retaining the right and left skies a select distance apart at both the front and tail, with the skies being a greater distance apart at the tail are described. Clamping devices are disclosed for attaching the trainers to skies which will not mar or otherwise damage the skies. The ski trainers permit a beginner to rapidly learn the art of skiing with confidence.

'United States Patent Charneck SKI TRAINER [76] Inventor: Joseph P. Charneck, 3730 St.

Margaret St., Baltimore, Md. 21225 [22] Filed: Apr. 30, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 355,669

[52] US. Cl. 280/1137 E; 280/1137 J [51] Int. Cl. A63C 11/00 [58] Field of Search 280/1137 E, 11.37 J, 12 F, 280/11.l3 D, 11.13 Z, 11.13 B, 11.13 T, 35

H; 24/263 LS, 263 P], 243 AB, 73 BC [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,171,667 3/1965 Wightman 280/1137 .1 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 800,880 5/1936 France 280/1 137 J 1451 Sept. 23, 1975 Germany .1 280/1137 E Switzerland 280/1137 Primary E.raminerPhilip Goodman Attorney, Agent, or FirmA. W. Breiner [57] ABSTRACT Ski trainers comprising means for retaining the right and left skies a select distance apart at both the front and tail, with the skies being a greater distance apart at the tail are described. Clamping devices are disclosed for attaching the trainers to skies which will not mar or otherwise damage the skies. The ski trainers permit a beginner to rapidly learn the art of skiing with confidence.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures US Patent Sept. 23,1975

IIT/ SKI TRAINER FIELD OF INVENTION AND BACKGROUND The present invention is directed to ski trainers. More particularly, the invention is directed to ski trainers designed to retain the skies of a beginning skier at a select distance apart at both the front and rear to permit the skier to become comfortable and confident on skies while learning and obtaining balance. The skier thereby can more rapidly learn the fundamentals of skiing.

The difficulty confronting the beginning skier in obtaining balance and confidence on skies due to the unnatural feeling of skies and the tendency of the right and left skies to go in every direction upon ecountering snow is recognized. As a result, efforts have been made to minimize the difficulty, including connecting the skies together at the front end to minimize total movement of the skies. These efforts, however, have been less than completely successful in solving the problems of the beginning skier and, in some instances, have contributed to building a lack of confidence in the beginner due to the inability of the beginner to gracefully stand up or recover from a fall due to the restricted movements at one end only of the skies with the full movement of the skies at the other end. Moreover, heretofore the available training devices either could not be easily attached to skies, at least not without damage to the skies; or, if they could be easily attached, had a tendency to come off during use, further disrupting the confidence of the beginning skier.

OBJECTS AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide ski trainers for attachment to a pair of skies which will instill confidence in the beginning skier.

It is another object of this invention to provide ski trainers which are quickly and securely. attached to skies without damage to the skies.

It is another object of this invention to provide ski trainers which will fit skies of varying widths.

It is another object of this invention to provide ski trainers which are light in weight and sturdy in construction.

These and other objects will be more fully apparent from the following detailed discussion, with reference being made to the illustrative drawing.

The aforesaid objects are accomplished by providing ski trainers comprising a separate unit for attachment to both the front and tail ends of the skies. The two units can be identical in construction. However, the front unit will be of shorter length, holding the nose section of the skies closer together than is the tail section. Both the front and tail units have a degree of freedom which permits lateral movement to allow the skies to be walked, or moved sideways. Inasmuch as the skier knows that his or her skies are going to remain in substantially the same position with the nose section directed inward, the beginning skier can concentrate fully on knee movement, shifting of weight, etc., to obtain proper balance. That is, the concern of having each ski go in a different direction once it contacts snow is precluded, giving a greater degree of confidence to the beginning skier and, thus, simplifying the problems of the beginning skier in learning to ski as well as simplifying the problems of the ski instructor in teaching skiing.

THE DRAWING AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Having described the invention in general terms, reference will be made to the drawing to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawing where like parts are referred to by like numerals,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of skies 'positioned apart by means of the ski trainers;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of one unit of a preferred embodiment of the ski trainer;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of one of the brackets of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partially sectional view of an element of the ski trainer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of another element of the ski trainer of FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 of the drawing generally illustrates the configuration of a pair of skies 10 and 12 utilizing the trainer device of the present invention. The arrows indicate the lateral movement of the front and rear trainer units 14 and 16, respectively, which movement is necessary to permit the forward and rearward movement of the skies to allow the skies to be walked, or moved sideways, during the skiing exercise. FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a preferred device for use as both the front and rear units of the ski trainer. The only difference in the front and rear unit is the length of the spacer element.

Referring to FIG. 2, both the front and rear ski unit includes brackets 20 and 22 which are fitted onto the right ski l0 and left ski l2; spacer element 30 for spacing the skies a select distance apart; and connector elements 40 for attaching spacer element 30 at its respective ends to brackets 20 and 22. As seen most clearly from FIGS. 2 and 3, brackets 20 and 22 comprise a top section 23 and side sections 24 and 25. The side sections are movably secured to the top section by means of threaded screw elements 26 through slots 23.1 in the top section to permit adjustment of the side units. A felt strip 27 is secured to the interior of the bracket to protect the ski from being marred by the bracket when the bracket is tightened down. There is provision for screw elements 21 in side sections 24 and 25 for securing the bracket to the ski if desired. These, however, are not completely necessary since, because of the slight inward taper of the side sections, the bracket can normally be secured tightly enough by screw elements 26 extending through slots 23.1 in the top of the bracket. In the event the brackets are to be retained on a pair of skies for a long period of time, however, it may be desirable to insert screw elements 21 to obtain a more secure fitting.

As seen from FIGS. 2'and 5, spacer element 30 comprises a rod element 50 fitting in a telescoping fashion within rod 32 at each end thereof. Unit 50 comprises a rod 52, and at one end an enlarged bushing 54 and a round-headed screw 56 which threadedly engages rod 52. At the opposite end, an eyehook 58 is positioned within rod 52 with hex nut 59. A split ring 51 fits over the rod element and holds the rod in a telescope manner within connecting rod 32 as a result of enlarged bushing 54. In this manner, the spacer 30 has freedom of lateral movement substantially to the extent of the length of rod 52 to permit walking of the skies as well as lateral movement of the skies. The spacer rod 30 is held to brackets and 22 by means of connector element 40. Element 40, as seen from FIG. 4, comprises a spacer 42, a hex nut 44, and a thumb screw 46.

As is apparent, the device is extremely simple, both from the standpoint of construction and from the standpoint of attachment, but yet particularly when constructed of aluminum is lightweight and durable. The unit moves freely even in frozen conditions. and in ice and snow.

The length of the spacer elements in the front unit 14 and rear unit 16 can vary depending upon the height and weight of the skier, but normally the front unit will be approximately 7 /2 inches and the tail unit will be approximate I 1% inches. The lateral movement due to the telescoping unit 50 will be approximately 4 inches at the nose section and approximately 5 inches at the tail section. Further, as will be apparent, a variation in the positioning of the skies is obtainable by moving the front unit slightly forward on the nose section of the ski or to the rear, and/or by moving the rear unit slightly forward or to the rear of the tail section.

As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, various modifications can be made in the ski trainers of the present invention. These modifications being within the ability of one skilled in the art fall within the inventive concept and are to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

it is claimed:

1. A ski trainer comprising in combination (a) a right and left ski, each having a nose and tail section; (b) spacer means removably secured to the nose section of each of said right and left ski; and (c) spacer means removably secured to the tail section of each of said right and left ski; said spacer means secured to the nose section being shorter than the spacer means secured to the tail section whereby the nose section of said skies extends inward, said spacer means permitting lateral movement and constructed and arranged with adjustable bracket means including a top section and two side sections, at least one of said side sections being movably attached to said top section and having means for rendering said side sections immovable with said top section.

2. The ski trainer of claim 1 wherein said spacer means comprise a spacer element with rod elements telescopically secured within said spacer element, said lateral movement being controlled by the length of said rod elements.

3. A ski trainer comprising in combination (a) a right and left ski. each having a nose and tail section; (b) spacer means removably secured to the nose section of each of said right and left ski; and (c) spacer means removably secured to the tail section of each of said right and left ski; said spacer means secured to the nose section being shorter than the spacer means secured to the tail section whereby the nose section of said skies extends inward, said spacer means constructed and arranged with bracket means removably attached to each of said right and left ski and said spacer means comprising a spacer element movably connected to said bracket means including rod elements telescopically secured within said spacer element permitting lateral movement, said lateral movement being controlled by the length of said rod elements.

4. The ski trainer of claim 3 wherein said bracket means are adjustable.

5. The ski trainer of claim 4 wherein said adjustable bracket means comprise a top section and two side sections, said side sections being movably attached to said top section and having means for rendering said side sections immovable with said top section.

6. A ski trainer device comprising bracket means at each end of spacer means and movably connected thereto; said bracket means including means for removable attachment to a ski and comprising a top section and two side sections, at least one side section being movably secured to said top section and including means for immovably securing said one side section to said top section.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said top section contains slots and said means for movably securing and immovably securing said one side section to said top section are screw means which pass through said slots and into said side section.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said spacer means comprises a spacer element with rod elements telescopically secured within said spacer elements to permit lateral movement of said ski trainer device.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein said device is constructed of aluminum. 

1. A ski trainer comprising in combination (a) a right and left ski, each having a nose and tail section; (b) spacer means removably secured to the nose section of each of said right and left ski; and (c) spacer means removably secured to the tail section of each of said right and left ski; said spacer means secured to the nose section being shorter than the spacer means secured to the tail section whereby the nose section of said skies extends inward, said spacer means permitting lateral movement and constructed and arranged with adjustable bracket means including a top section and two side sections, at least one of said side sections being movably attached to said top section and having means for rendering said side sections immovable with said top section.
 2. The ski trainer of claim 1 wherein said spacer means comprise a spacer element with rod elements telescopically secured within said spacer element, said lateral movement being controlled by the length of said rod elements.
 3. A ski trainer comprising in combination (a) a right and left ski, each having a nose and tail section; (b) spacer means removably secured to the nose section of each of said right and left ski; and (c) spacer means removably secured to the tail section of each of said right and left ski; said spacer means secured to the nose section being shorter than the spacer means secured to the tail section whereby the nose section of said skies extends inward, said spacer means constructed and arranged with bracket means removably attached to each of said right and left ski and said spacer means comprising a spacer element movably connected to said bracket means including rod elements telescopically secured within said spacer element permitting lateral movement, said lateral movement being controlled by the length of said rod elements.
 4. The ski trainer of claim 3 wherein said bracket means are adjustable.
 5. The ski trainer of claim 4 wherein said adjustable bracket means comprise a top section and two side sections, said side sections being movably attached to said top section and having means for rendering said side sections immovable with said top section.
 6. A ski trainer device comprising bracket means at each end of spacer means and movably connected thereto; said bracket means including means for removable attachment to a ski and comprising a top section and two side sections, at least one side section being movably secured to said top section and including means for immovably securing said one side section to said top section.
 7. The device of claim 6 wherein said top section contains slots and said means for movably securing and immovably securing said one side section to said top section are screw means which pass through said slots and into said side section.
 8. The device of claim 7 wherein said spacer means comprises a spacer element with rod elements telescopically secured within said spacer elements to permit lateral movement of said ski trainer device.
 9. The device of claim 8 wherein said device is Constructed of aluminum. 